TEHRAN - In a ceremony on Monday, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) started the first stage of installing equipment of the Arak heavy water reactor, including secondary circuit.

Ali Akbar Salehi, the AEOI chief, who had attended the ceremony, said, “One of the largest achievements of Iran in nuclear technology is planning and building Arak’s Khondab research site. Our young scientists began a way 20 years ago and we witness that giant strides have been taken thus far in this regard.”

He added, “If we divide the reactor’s system into 50 parts, out of which 20 parts have been completed so far, 12 more parts are under completion and preliminary works on the remaining 12 parts have been started.”

“Today, we make operational a remarkable part of the reactor titled the secondary circuit which is different from the primary part,” Salehi stated. 

“The primary circuit is tasked with removing heat from the heart of the reactor, and the secondary circuit is responsible for transferring the heat from the primary circuit to cooling towers and finally to the outside environment,” explained Salehi, a nuclear physicist.

Salehi went on to say that the control room of the secondary circuit has also been completed.

“In the first part of the reactor, we will witness the placing operation of the reactor’s cap which includes about hundred components.”

AEOI plans to install fuel change equipment of Khondab reactor within four months 

Salehi added, “In the next three-four months after we would place the cap and other components, we would start mounting fuel change equipment (refueling system) which has three axes. We later would test whether the mounted equipment of fuel change system could work.” 

The modern heavy water reactor of Khandab, Arak, will serve the purpose of gaining experience in designing and making atomic reactors, training experts, providing equipment for research in neutron physics, thermohydraulics, treatment, and production of radio medicines. 

MJ/PA